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Court Asks Police To Release Detained Bayelsa Governorship Candidate
By Emmanuel Awosika
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to release a Bayelsa State governorship candidate, Vijah Opuama, who has been in detention since August 15, 2020.
Opuama, a gubernatorial candidate of the Liberation Movement Party, had been arrested by the Police at the Bayelsa Governorship Election Tribunal in Abuja, while awaiting the tribunal’s ruling on his suit appealing the results of the gubernatorial election.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo ordered the Inspector-General to produce the candidate before the court on Wednesday, or justify its decision to continue detaining the candidate.
The judge gave the order following the filing of an ex parte application by the candidate’s lawyer, Mr Michael Odey, on Monday.
The judge said it was unconstitutional for the police to detain the plaintiff for more than 24 hours without permitting him bail or arraigning him before a competent court of law.
Therefore, he asked that the Police “shall show cause why the applicant should not be released unconditionally”.
The judge also said in his ruling that “the applicant shall be produced in court on Wednesday, September 2, 2020.”
